LAUSANNE, Switzerland & LONDON & MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ADC Therapeutics (ADCT), the oncology drug development company,
announces that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I trial to
evaluate its antibody drug conjugate (ADC) ADCT-402 in B-cell
non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (B-NHL).

The two stage, open-label trial will evaluate the tolerability, safety,
pharmacokinetics and activity of ADCT-402 in patients with relapsed or
refractory B-NHL. The first stage is a dose escalation phase which will
recruit up to 30 patients at ten clinical sites across the US and EU and
will seek to determine the recommended dose of ADCT-402 for the second
stage. The second stage, which will begin once an appropriate dose is
identified, aims to confirm the safety and efficacy profile at the
selected dose.

ADCT-402 combines a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the protein
CD19 with a pyrrolo-benzodiazepine (PBD) warhead. CD19 is a B-cell
specific surface protein expressed throughout B-cell development. It is
expressed on nearly all B-cell malignancies in many non-Hodgkin
lymphomas. Due to its specificity, it has become an attractive target
for ADC therapies. In preclinical in vivo models, ADCT-402
exhibited strong dose-dependent anti-tumor activity against
CD19-positive leukemic and lymphoma cell lines at low single doses, and
it outperformed other CD19 targeted ADCs currently in clinical
development.

B-cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is a common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a
cancer of the lymphatic system. Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas overall are the 10th
most common cancer in the world. In 2012, there were nearly 386,000 new
cases diagnosed globally, with highest incidence rates reported in
Northern America.

Dr. Jay Feingold, CMO and Senior Vice President of Clinical Development
at ADC Therapeutics, said:

“Dosing the first patient in this trial with ADCT-402 is an important
milestone for us and could pave the way for a better treatment regimen
for patients.The trial will give us vital data on safety,
tolerability, dosing and efficacy over the next two years.

“Following our preclinical studies suggesting ADCT-402 may also
provide significant clinical benefit for patients suffering from
lymphoblastic leukemia, we are exploring this potential further with a
second study in patients with relapsed and/or refractory B-cell acute
lymphoblastic leukemia now also open for patient recruitment.”

Dr. Owen O’Connor, Principal Investigator for the study and Professor of
Medicine and Experimental Therapeutics, and the Director of the Center
for Lymphoid Malignancies at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer
Center, Columbia University Medical Center, said:

“Tremendous advances have been made in the treatment of non-Hodgkin
Lymphoma in the past 20 years.However, a significant portion of
the patient population still fail to respond to currently available
therapies.Having seen the effects of other ADCs in various
tumour types in recent years, we eagerly anticipate the results of this
study.”

ADC Therapeutics currently has two PBD-based ADCs in four clinical
trials, with a deep pipeline of other ADCs in preclinical development.
More information regarding these trials can be found on
clinicaltrials.gov.

ADC Therapeutics SA (ADCT) is an oncology drug development company that
specializes in the development of proprietary ADCs targeting major solid
and hematological cancers. The Company’s ADCs are highly targeted drug
constructs which combine monoclonal antibodies specific to surface
antigens present on particular tumor cells with a novel class of highly
potent pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD)-based warheads developed by Spirogen
(a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca’s MedImmune). The Company’s
ADCT-301 and ADCT-402 programs entered Phase I clinical development for
lymphoma and leukemia in 2015. ADC Therapeutics has its head office in
Lausanne, Switzerland, its R&D laboratories in London, UK, its clinical
development team in New Jersey, USA, and its manufacturing team based in
San Francisco, USA.